Coal black or blackish mineral substance formed from the compaction of ancient plant matter in tropical swamp conditions. It is used as a fuel and in the chemical industry. The principal centres of coal production in India close to the Bangladesh border are the Bengal-Bihar Coal fields at Jharia, Raniganj, Bokaro and Karanpura. The railways have been the chief consumers of Indian coal. Coal mining in India was first started at Raniganj, west bengal in 1774, but its output merely supplied local requirements until the East Indian Railway entered the field in 1854. By 1903, the Raniganj field accounted for about 41.2% of the total coal production in India. Similarly, the production of the Jharia field in 1894, following the laying of a branch line connecting it with the East Indian Railway system, was 14,818 tons. Then the production rapidly increased, and in 1903 the output of Jharia represented one-third of the total coal production of India. The coalfields in various parts of assam are, however, associated with the rocks of the Tertiary age.

In Bangladesh four major subsurface coalfields are discovered. From 1857 to 1957 a number of geologists expressed with the hope that under the green cropped land in Bangladesh, coal mines which would surpass this significance of those in Raniganj would be found. In spite of this East Pakistan was neglected for the exploration works for mineral resources. But the hopes of the geologists were vindicated when in course of searching for oil in 1959 STANVAC drilled a hole in Kuchma X-1 in Bogra district, where Gondwana coal was encountered at a depth of 2381m from surface. It was decided to abandon the well earlier but later STANVAC continued drilling and as a result the coal was discovered. Thick Eocene limestone bed was also encountered in the hole. This discovery was an eye-opener to the possibility of finding mineral resources in mineable depth. Consequently in 1961 under the UN-Pak Mineral Survey Project the Geological Survey of Pakistan (GSP) carried out detailed geological, geophysical and drilling operations in the districts of Bogra and Rajshahi and found coal resources of about 1,050 million tons in the Jamalganj-Paharpur coal fields and a huge quantity of Eocene limestone in the area.

In 1972, geological survey of bangladesh (GSB) was established. It undertook a project (1981-1990) with the financial assistance of the Asian Development Bank under the title "Accelerated Exploration for Mineral Resources and Modernisation of the Geological Survey of Bangladesh". The Project was successfully implemented. Under this project the Geological Survey of Bangladesh discovered Permian Gondwana coal at Barapukuria of Dinajpur district in 1985, Khalaspir of Rangpur district in 1989 and Dighipara of Dinajpur district in 1995. In the Barapukuria coal basin, GSB completed seven drill holes during the years 1985-87. GSB also calculated the reserves, thickness and extent of the coal. Later on another 25 holes were drilled by Chinese and British company to know the details of the extent, reserves, thickness, seam condition, overburden characteristics and hydrogeological conditions. In the Khalaspir basin 4 holes were drilled by GSB and in the Dighipara basin only one hole was drilled.

Wardell Armstrong of UK carried out a techno-economic feasibility study of the Barapukuria Coal in 1990. Coal here is extended in an area of 5.25 square kilometres below the surface at depths ranging from 118m to 506m. The total reserve of coal in this field is 300 million tons and the mineable reserve is 70 million tons. The coal is high volatile, low sulphur bituminous type. Government of Bangladesh made an agreement with a Chinese consortium to extract this coal. petrobangla is the executing agency of this mine. The mine will be opened by two shafts of 6m diameter to a depth of 280m below the surface. Mining of the Barapukuria coal is in progress. Production of this coal is expected to start in June 2002 with a target of one million metric ton of coal per year. Eighty percent of this coal will be consumed in a 300 MW power plant near the mine mouth. The rest of coal will be consumed in industry and domestic uses.

Coal in the Jamalganj-Paharpur area is too deep to mine. Extraction of coal bed methane from this field is under consideration. A detailed study of this is yet to be done. Coals in the Khalaspir basin and Dighipara basin are same as the Barapukuria basin. A detailed geological study of the coal including extent, reserves and thickness is yet to be completed. Broken Hill Proprietor of Australia discovered Gondwana coal at a depth of 150m below the surface at Phulbari of Dinajpur district in 1997. Detailed study of this coal is yet to be done. Besides the Permian Gondwana coal in the northern part of Bangladesh, GSP discovered two beds of ligno-bituminous Tertiary coal in Takerghat-Baglibazar area at a depth of 45m to 97m below the surface in the years 1960-62. The beds are 0.90m to 1.70m thick and reserves were estimated at 3.00 million tons. [QM Arifur Rahman]